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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28010010">Futile Devices</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrsrun/pseuds/pyrsrun'>pyrsrun</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Case Fic, Dark Academia, M/M, Murder Mystery, Not Beta Read, Serial Killers, the boys are informal detectives</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:34:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,847</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28010010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrsrun/pseuds/pyrsrun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“I didn’t know Ms. Greta allowed smoking inside the library” the words escape his mouth before he can hold them back, but he gets the satisfaction of watching the other startle and the cigarette fall from his mouth.<br/>The man looks sourly around himself until he spots him, then his face goes soft and Ryan doesn’t know what to think about that.<br/>“Technically I’m outside the library” he points to the flowers softly being blown by the wind.<br/>“Then, I didn’t know she allowed us to bring books outside without going by her desk first”<br/>The man chuckles at this “As you can see, you caught me between two worlds” and then as an afterthought “thus is the duality of man”<br/>_______</p>
<p>Everything in Ryan's academic life comes to a head when he is falsely accused of a murder. Now he must catch the killer to regain his reputation, and maybe fall in love with the mysterious man that decides to help him in the process.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Futile Devices</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello! Thanks for stoping by!</p>
<p>Quick disclaimer: this is a real person fic, because I enjoy their dynamic, and can't avoid seeing people as character tropes. That being said, please don't share this with anyone that may know the boys. If I hear word that this got to them, it would break my heart.</p>
<p>This is also kind of a dark academia AU, because I like the ~vibes. Every knowledge is knowledge, enjoy learning, and have fun!</p>
<p>I didn't set an specific time period here, but I would say it's around the late 1940s. Definitely no computers around.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ryan’s eyes dance over the cold marble, passing over muscle, bone, and vein, landing in a soft nest of curls. Then, slowly go back up to piercing eyes. His tongue peeks shyly to moisten his lips and comes back tasting the aftermath of his last cup of coffee. The teacher’s voice drones in the background as he is completely enamored with the pallid form that occupies the projector, the bright light drying his sclera and stilling the usually busy hand that holds his pen limply.</p><p>“It’s stunning how aloof he can be, as if daring you to oppose him” Ryan is shaken off his thoughts by a soft voice close to his ear, looking up sharply to meet an unfamiliar face “the battle hasn’t even started, and yet he stands victorious”</p><p>Ryan quirks an eyebrow while he takes in the man beside him. He thinks he saw him before around campus although they probably don’t have the same major. He is met with an open face and kind droopy eyes behind round glasses that wait patiently for a reply, so, Ryan humors him.</p><p>“Maybe he is sure the God of Israel will protect him”</p><p>“Or maybe he just knows he can kill a bear” at this the man smiles softly “I’ve never seen someone so enraptured by Michelangelo’s David before”</p><p>Ryan shakes his head “I just- never stopped to really look” his eyes go back to the projector, and he can feel himself start to get sucked back in once again.</p><p>The man adjusts himself in the chair to face a little more Ryan’s direction “Did you know that he made it to be-” he starts only to be rudely interrupted by the teacher clearing their throat.</p><p>Ryan feels his cheeks color and sees the same thing happen to the other’s pale ones. They stay silent for the rest of the lecture, David now being ditched in favor of the Sistine Chapel, but sometimes Ryan’s eyes escape him, and he finds himself mapping the man’s face, taking in how he holds himself, aloof as if daring anyone to oppose him.</p><p>Later, as Ryan walks the university’s corridors, he dances his fingertips through the windowsill’s marble and imagines they are cool pale skin.</p><hr/><p>He doesn’t see the man for a while after that, and Ryan surely looked. He started among the art majors since they met in Art History II, but no one seemed to know anything about the man beside the fact that he took that class, sat in the back, and kept to himself, which is not that unusual since it is open to anyone who wishes to take it. Ryan’s own major for example is creative writing.</p><p>With the failure of that path, he takes another approach that consists mostly of lurking around the cafeteria hoping that chance will smile upon him and allow a new meeting with the mystery man, surely he has to eat at some point. Right?</p><p>Since chance is an unreliable lover, he ends up finding him in the last place he thought to look: the library. In Ryan’s defense, he has an entirely plausible reason to avoid it like the plague, and that reason is currently staring at him sternly from behind square-framed glasses, pursing her blood-red thin lips in pure distaste as he scurries past her front desk. Ryan and the librarian, Ms. Greta, have somewhat of a feud over an incident involving a power outage, a candle, an essay due the next day, and a very flammable copy of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. </p><p>Finally out of danger’s way, Ryan moves deeper into the belly of the beast and into an area he doesn’t remember ever visiting to find his latest designated cross to bear: Homer’s Iliad. He spots it on the highest shelf of the furthest aisle and stretches his arm, getts on his tiptoes too, but his fingertips barely brush the base of the book, so, Ryan has two choices: he can go through the humiliation of asking for help from a stranger or face a near-death experience asking Ms. Greta for a ladder. He obviously chooses the former.</p><p>Ryan goes further to the back and turns the corridor, and that’s when he sees him. He is sat in a low open window that faces the garden surrounding the building, a book propped on his knee and a cigarette dangling from his lips, and just like with David, Ryan is drawn into the scene, taking in the delicate purple skin beneath an eye that catches the afternoon sun and reflects like an amber fossil. The man turns a page and that snaps Ryan out of it.</p><p>“I didn’t know Ms. Greta allowed smoking inside the library” the words escape his mouth before he can hold them back, but he gets the satisfaction of watching the other startle and the cigarette fall from his mouth.</p><p>The man looks sourly around himself until he spots him, then his face goes soft and Ryan doesn’t know what to think about that.</p><p>“Technically I’m outside the library” he points to the flowers softly being blown by the wind.</p><p>“Then, I didn’t know she allowed us to bring books outside without going by her desk first”</p><p>The man chuckles at this “As you can see, you caught me between two worlds” and then as an afterthought “thus is the duality of man”</p><p>Ryan laughs along, but he has no idea what the other means by that at all. “I’m Ryan by the way, lit major”</p><p>“Oh! Yeah-  I’m Shane, history” he sits up awkwardly at this, closing his book.</p><p>“Nice to meet you” Ryan answers awkwardly “Actually I have a favor to ask”</p><p>“Oh. Ok.” Shane seems disappointed, and Ryan scrambles to continue, feeling the need to try and fix the unexpected reaction.</p><p>“Yeah- I can’t reach a book.. I’m sorry to bother you- I can find someone else? If?”</p><p>“Oh! Sure, don’t worry” life seems to come back to him, and in a smooth movement, Shane stands up, and wow. Ok, Ryan made the right choice, because the guy is absurdly tall. </p><p>“Lead the way”</p><p>They walk in awkward silence until they reach Ryan’s disaffection and he points to it, distaste clear in his face.</p><p>Shane chuckles as he effortlessly picks it off the shelf “What did Homer ever do to you? When did the hurt begin?”</p><p>“When I found out I have to write an essay about it due this Friday” Ryan twists his nose.</p><p>“Uh, that’s rough” he winces and then pauses in consideration “I could help you with it. If you want to”</p><p>That lights Ryan up immediately “Really?! I wouldn’t want to impose..”</p><p>“It wouldn’t be a problem, it’s one of my favorite books” he says with a small smile.</p><p>“Well, I accept it then. Since clearly, you enjoy hurting yourself.” he tries a quip.</p><p>“Hey, the classics can be fun! It’s all a matter of perspective”</p><p>Ryan shakes his head smiling and glad for the banter as they make their way back to the window “Masochist” he disdains “I bet what you are reading right now is also written by a guy so old everyone doubts he even existed at all”</p><p>Shane blushes and waves the small book around “It’s Aesoph’s fables”</p><p>“Ha! I knew it!”</p><p>“In my defense, the whole class has to read it!”</p><p>“I don’t care” he laughs as they finally reach their starting point and the silence stretch as the chuckles die down and they both don’t know where to take it from there.</p><p>“So” Shane starts “I can meet you here tomorrow?”</p><p>“Oh- yeah. About that. Can we meet at the cafeteria? I don’t like coming here” and at Shane’s raised eyebrow Ryan huffs and relents “I have a feud with Ms. Greta”</p><p>With that Shane’s other eyebrow joins the first “Now, you will have to expand on that”</p><p>“Tomorrow, at 4?”</p><p>“Deal” and he smiles.</p><hr/><p>When Ryan enters the cafeteria he easily spots the back of Shane’s head, towering over everyone else. He clutches his shoulder bag closer with clammy hands as he walks over to him.</p><p>He can’t really pinpoint why he is so interested in Shane, but Ryan feels like he just picked up a crime thriller and then can’t put it down until he uncovers all of the secrets it holds. The man is fascinating in an awkward way and Ryan spent the whole night reading the Iliad thinking about him.</p><p>As he gets closer he notices that Shane has his nose in a book and is furiously scribbling in a notepad without looking. Seated in front of him there is a man and a woman looking at Shane expectantly and chatting amongst themselves. Oh no, did Ryan mistake the time? He quickly glances at his watch, 4:05pm. If anything he is late. Has Shane already given up waiting for him? Did he forget about their meeting? He takes a steeling breath. The only way to know is to confront him.</p><p>He walks until he is hovering over their table “Uhm, hey”</p><p>Shane’s head snaps up and the relief Ryan sees there is palpable “Oh, hi Ryan! Please sit” and then turns to the people in front of him and says pointedly “This is my friend Ryan, who made an <em> appointment </em> with me so I can help him”</p><p>Ryan is still reeling over the fact that Shane called him a friend when the woman turns to him, apparently unfazed by the dry tone directed at her “Hi Ryker, I’m Bella and this is my brother Gus” she points to the guy who does a little wave.</p><p>He blinks “It’s Ryan”</p><p>“Of course it is” she blinks, smiles, and taps her nails on the cover of a small book.</p><p>For a moment no one says anything and the only sound coming from their table is Shane’s pen.</p><p>“I can come another day?” Ryan starts hesitantly.</p><p>“No!” Shane holds a finger up but doesn’t take his eyes off the book and his pen doesn’t still for a second, all the while Bella smiles like the cat that got the cream. Ryan narrows his eyes at her in annoyance.</p><p>“Soo, Shane, we are throwing a party this Sunday. You should come” she says as her brother nods along.</p><p>“<em> Certe? </em>” he looks surprised.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Oh, sorry. Hard to switch. Sure, I’ll go” and with that, he tears the page from the notepad and passes it to her along with the book “Until Sunday then”</p><p>“Byye” she says as she gets up “You should come too Richard, it will be fun” and is gone before Ryan can correct her.</p><p>He takes a moment to look around himself and try to understand what just passed, all the while Shane rubs his face violently showing the red part inside his eyes and making his mouth turn into an exaggerated frown.</p><p>“What happened?” Ryan finally asks.</p><p>Shane groans deeply “It’s just the Fowler twins. Lost a party game once and now I have to translate Latin for the rest of my life”</p><p>He makes a face “Now I’m considering not going” Ryan was considering not going from the start, really.</p><p>“No, no. Come with me, they are usually fun” oh well shit now he will have to.</p><p>“Ok then” Ryan smiles bashfully, but then realizes something “Wait, you know Latin?!” now it’s Shane’s turn to look shy and he nods.</p><p>“Tell me something in Latin” he grins.</p><p>“<em> Sic ego nec sine te nec tecum vivere possum </em>” Shane answers without hesitation and then immediately blushes.</p><p>Ryan narrows his eyes “What does that mean?”</p><p>“Uhm- I can’t live without coffee” </p><p>That startles a laugh out of Ryan “Then I shall buy you a cup! Out of the deepest gratitude of my heart” Ryan clutches his chest dramatically and laughs all the while Shane looks a little starstruck.</p><p>“Yeah, ok” he blinks.</p><p>Ryan buys the coffee and then gets lost in the soft cadence of Shane’s voice that guides him gently through the gods, the battle, Achilles and Patroclus. Soon he has enough notes to scrap a mediocre last-minute essay and is getting late, so they buy dinner and move to other topics, music, gossip, and favorite authors. Ryan learns that Shane actually loves Shakespeare and in the end, he admits he may be starting to appreciate the greek classics, though you would have to pry his obsession with murder mysteries from his cold dead hands.</p><p>Soon is time to leave, their heads are getting closer and closer to dropping onto the table and the cafeteria lady is shooting them nasty looks as the closing hour approaches, so they gather their stuff and head back to their respective dorms, but before they get to the door Ryan looks behind himself and notices they missed a book.</p><p>“Shane, wait!” He crosses the room in large strides, reaches their table, and picks up the small paperback.</p><p>“Hey, Shane! it’s yours” </p><p>Ryan sees Shane furrow his eyebrows and walk closer “It’s Aesoph”</p><p>“No, mine is right here” Shane opens his bag and waves an identical copy around. Now it’s Ryan’s turn to look confused as they continue walking to the corridor.</p><p>“It’s probably the twin’s, we’re in the same class” </p><p>“Oh, you’re probably right” </p><p>If you asked him then, Ryan wouldn't have been able to tell you why he kept holding the book instead of giving it to Shane, since his friend had many more chances of seeing Bella and Gus before Sunday. Maybe it was the comforting weight in his palm or the smooth texture of the cover on his fingers. The point is, he entered his room, kicked off his shoes, and only when he went to put the book down did Ryan notice he still had it.</p><p>He stands still in the middle of the room, flipping through it when he hears a yell from the bathroom.</p><p>“<em> ¡Ryan! ¿estás ahí? </em>”</p><p>Ryan jumps a foot in the air, jostling the book in the process and sending a small piece of paper that was tucked inside in the air.</p><p>“<em> ¿Quien mas seria, Curly? </em>” he answers annoyed as he struggles to pick the paper up before it falls down.</p><p>“<em> Yo no sé, </em> maybe the serial killers finally realized what they are missing out on” he pokes his curly head out of the bathroom and gives Ryan a cheeky grin, who just sticks his tongue out in return as he looks the paper over, seeing a message in what appears to be Latin? </p><p>“<em> Guapo, tengo que pedir um favor </em>” Curly leaves the bathroom and grabs a notebook from his bed “Can you take this to Jen? She said she would kill me if I didn’t return it today, and I’m too pretty to die so soon”</p><p>“Cuurlyy, but I just got here” Ryan whines but is already tucking the note in his jacket’s pocket and putting on his shoes again.</p><p>“But I’m already in my pajamasGo, I’ll owe you one” Curly smiles knowing there was  no chance his friend would refuse him  “I’ll bring you food from when I visit my <em> abuela </em>tomorrow”</p><p>“Ok, but just because I love your grandma” he pouts resigned, and grabs the notebook, leaving his room with it tucked under his arm and Bella’s book still in hand.</p><p>For all his complaining, Ryan actually really loves walking around the university at night. It’s only the start of October so it’s getting colder but not uncomfortably so, the crisp evening air bites his cheeks when he passes open corridors, and the yellow lamps warm the tall ceilings of the halls. The building is constructed in a way that the boy’s and the girl’s dormitories are stationed in complete opposites of each other, for no other apparent reason than to be a complete nuisance in Ryan’s opinion, and to provide him with a long walk when he goes visit his friends. </p><p>He passes the entrance to the cafeteria, then goes down a stair and crosses the central ballroom. He takes the left turn after leaving through the backdoor, passing in front of the open entrance of the library where he spots Steven and waves hello but has to quickly duck from Ms. Greta’s line of sight. He keeps walking and turns right into a corridor open to the outside that is usually completely deserted since it only holds the linguistics classrooms, but this time Ryan sees a person in the far end of it, seating on a low windowsill with their back to him. As he gets closer Ryan starts to recognize Bella’s long black hair and thanks his luck for having brought her book with him. </p><p>“Hey, Bella! You forgot your book earlier!” he shouts, but gets no response. </p><p>Puzzled, Ryan walks closer until he can touch her on the shoulder “Bella? Are you ok-”</p><p>Still without a response, he presses a little harder to get her to turn, but the momentum carries her down and she falls to the ground. Nothing could have prepared Ryan for this moment, but there at his feet, Isabella Fowler lies dead.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Shane's Latin quote goes something like: "I'm not able to exist with or without you", the sappy bastard. Yeah definitely not about coffee. This quote is from Ovid, a Roman poet that is one of the most important sources of Greek and Roman mythology.</p><p>Curly asks Ryan is Spanish if he is the one who is there, and Ryan answers "Who else?", then Curly says he needs to ask for a favor.</p><p>Neither English, Spanish or Latin are my first languages, so if you see any mistakes please let me know!</p><p>Comments make my day! If you don't know what to say, please tell me which is your favorite murder mystery?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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